Automatic gun



Oct. 27, 1925. 1,558,566

H. M. ROCKWELL 7 AUTOMATIC GUN pri i'nal piled fw, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet .1

Oct. 27 1925- v 66 V H. M. ROCKWELL AUTOMATIC GUN Original Filed Jan. 1'7, 1919 2 Sheets-$heet 2 a TA Z I rr Ext Er Patented 27,

' Tenemen -F DELAWARE.

2 1m -BWKWEE QQFmass s, om-mm", seem, a i ei lifees l ir iefise is EEO'JTHEMAIRLINEIIREARMSQQBROBATIQIN,CEMENT-HAVEN, @QQNNEGTICFL-AQOET 1 aw i Application meg January" 17 1919, semi No.-"27'1;741, Renewed August 7, 1925. a

ri-stjohdn the leounjty of 'Hartford' and "of i onneciti ut, hayei e t d c ta n wand usefullmprovementsinAutom i ,kpwn he iheary-ffB oWam fhm usedinvconneotion with airplanes. It was eu how e tha hi g n Possessed t- I Ia narr ng m n s 42f pa that 'P W l fi he-obtaining oftheiullreflicleney-ofthe gun 7 -:i Automat oguns, when m ountedon a'n ai'rplane for use the observen'are usually 1 portefdfa'sito belcapableloffiring in any direm 1 tion; H The lobserx'r'ers pit-is not o'f ,very great i some distan'ce..therein,, gun, such'as the q be manipulated only withdiflicriltyQ '53 because -ofl1e *fact that-av ators imust-ott neeessity wear heayy ;rn rttens 'or glovesy fiii'ls praetiealfly' impossible "for then-rtof operate 1 I the-trigger with "which guns-0f 'thisy ty-pe were proyid ed, since 'the itr 'igger-is operated i 1 by plil'lingit-with a'fin'ger; V It is the object of this invention to provide a trigger or firing control of :suchv a character, that it adapts itself to the posi tion of the gun so that it may readilybe op and'to so place the firinglcon'trol that the "gunner Will not have to assume a cramped and unnatural positionrin'firing the gun f and also to provide a trigger which can be Q operated by pressure exerted either by the V wholehand'or by thethumb. ,i Referring noW to the drawings-- zen of the United Sjtates, and a resident Gr ns p t/ h h he lloiii ijgii' aspe fi c earriedby a so-called turret and are-soesu'p diameter yand' thefbuttfof the gun extends I v f' heayyf' livrowning;*whieh-fhasritsfhandleand' "Zitrigger (at its extreme rear, is drflicult 't'o th'etrigger .into .a positionlslrch that jit'oan- Also;

I the other under-cut. erated inany position'thegun may assume,

"Flgflw'is an ehdeleVatiohofi the g-un mountedrnlaunlversal support;

boltfin firing position;

vF -F-ifg'.. l shows a way iinwhieh gube-mounted so as to be .cap'able o t practleal l y universal movement." Thegun, 1 is ca r e'd p -2 is aiflongitu-d'inal sectional-view; through the receiver, showing "the -bjreeoh- Fig. 8 is c1'transv erse. sectional yiewo-wfthereceiver;- showingathe rear end pf;the"bree'ohbolt in elevation and the trigger in see,ti01i";;. Fig. it is a sectionon l'ine .Ojf

.v 'fi'is a section on unes-es Y by :a circular head wli ioh is seated inn p ableo f rotation; Thegun' is-thereior oadeser ibed in detail-laten g I Reeiprocatively mounted inthe reoeiver"? t ring 3 in which it'isEfr-ee'torotate; Them r 3 1S 'trunnioned 1n the supportse and "s ca- }p ableof movement; aboutboth yertiefafl H nd 1 horizontal axes. "P ivota-l ly' mountedion' -the left and right-handsides of the 'gun a ef the handles *5 andfti, respectively,;.;Whih wrll be I is-the breeoh bolt 8 which is provided-.- with I I sea-r springj12 a l l' of whieh arewe'll" known in a gun of this type. The sear l l' has an angnflar-shaped head 13 Wh ioh engages al'coacting ,depressiolrii-n the inner end- 0f l at "right :angles to kthe seargfi-A-ninward movement of the sea-r' slide depresses the sear, disengaging thesanie from the firing p111, allowing the latter to spring for-ward and explode a cartridge; "The re'ceiver is cut-away to iorm the slot the sear slide l whioh is reeiproeatiyely mounted in thereai end of thex breeehebolt I :15, which has the undereeut surifaees 1-{6 either-end; Fitti-ngmver this slot is the, plate 17 which hasa 1ug'18 cut to engage with one under-out surface 16 and abolt 19 t 1 f i "with a properly shaped head 20 to engage l j V f f On the innerjsurface j of the-plate is outta circular depressionfil the bushing 23 is the pin-2% thefinner; end 25 0f which is conical? Pivoted inithe in which is rotatablyseateditheheadQQjb-t 1 r the bushing 23, the shank of which extendsjk through the plate. The handle" '51 iisffirnily attached to the fbusliin'g. v; Reciprojoatively m0unted in the handle and ooneentrioairith,

handle on the pin 26 is the bell-crank lever 27, one end of which is connected to the outer end of the pin 24. The other end of the lever 27 is attached to the rod 28 at the outer end of which'is the head 29. In a suitable housing 30 at the opposite end of the handle is contained the spring 31 which bears against the collar 32 of the rod 33 the exposed end of which engages the larger arm of the lever 27 and serves to normally hold the pin 24 in the position shown in Fig. 4;. i

A pin 34 may be carried by the head 22 to engage stops 35 to insure the maintaining of the handle 5 in such a position that the head 2970f the rod 28 will always be readily accessible.

In operation, the gunner grasps both of the, handles 5 and 6 and points the gun in any desired direction. As the rear end of the gun is elevated or depressed, the handles 5 and 6 turn to accommodate themselves to; the gunners hands. When it is desired to fire the gun, the operator pushes in the rod 28 with his thumb or with the palm of his hand. This causes the pin. 24 to operate the sear slide which, in turn, disengages the sear from the firing-pin, allowing the latter to spring forward and explode the cartridge. The gun will now go through its cycle of operations until the bolt gets back to firing position. If during this cycle, the rod 28 has been released, the gun will not fire again. But if the rod 28 is held in, the gun will fire automatically. This is caused by the engagement of the end of the sear slide with the conical point 25, which results in the inward movement of the sear slide and the consequent release of the firing-pin.

lVhile the drawings in this application illustrate the invention as applied to an automatic gun of the heavy Browning type, I do not limit myself to the use of this invention in connection with said type of gun, but claim it in its application to any gun in which conditions make my invention applicable.

That I claim is,

1. In an automatic gun, a firing-pin, means for retaining said firing-pin in inoperative position, means for releasing said retaining means, a handle pivotally mounted on the gun, and means in said handle operable in any position thereof to actuate said releasing means, said means including a pin reciprocatively mounted in said handle.

2. In an automatic gun, a firing-pin, means for retaining said firing-pin in inoperative position, means for releasing said retaining means, a handle pivotally mounted on the gun, and means in said handle operable in any position thereof toactuate said releasing means, said means including a tapere'd pin reciprocatively mounted in said handle. I

3. In an automatic gun, a handle rotatably mounted on the side thereof, a trigger reciprocatively mounted in said handle, and means to operate said trigger in any position of the handle.

l. In an automatic gun, a handle rotatably mounted on the side thereof, a trigger having a tapered head reciprocatively mounted in'said handle, and means to opcrate said trigger in any position of the handle. i

In an automatic gun, a handle rotatably mounted on the side thereof, a trigger reciprocatively mounted in said handle,'and

means including a rod reciprocatively mounted 1n sa1d handle to operate sa1d trigger.

6. In an automatic gun, a breech-bolt, a firing-pin, a sear andsear-slide operatively mounted in said bolt, a handle pivotally mounted on the gun, and a pin reciprocatively mounted therein in alinement with the sear-slide.

7 In an automatic gun, a breech-bolt, a firing-pin, a sear and sear-slide operatively mounted in said bolt, a handle pivotally mounted on the gun, a pin reciprocatively mounted therein in alinement with the sear slide, and means to operate said pin.

8. In an automatic gun, a breech-bolt, a firing-pin, a sear and sear-slide operatively mounted in said bolt, a handle pivotally mounted on the gun, a pin reci n'ocatively mounted therein in alinement With the searslide, a push-rod in said handle, and a bellcrank lever connecting the adjacent ends of the pin and push-rod.

HUGH M. ROCKWELL. 

